Packing tray or flat for fragile articles



May 29, 1934. R. E READ PACKING TRAY OR FLAT F 'OR FRACrILE ARTICLES 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 30, 1930 Z Q E/ r 2. 2

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PACKING TRAY 0R FLAT FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed Oct. 30, 1930 3Sheets-Sheet 2 v N VENTOR.

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May 29, 1934. R. E. READ PACKING TRAY OR FLAT FOR ERAGILE ARTICLES FiledOct. 30, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 A TTORNEYJ Patented May 29, 1934 UNITEDSTATES- PATENT OFFICE memo TRAY on FLAT non rnaoms ARTICLES ApplicationOctober 30, 1930, Serial No. 492,190

15 Claims.

This invention relates to holders or trays in which to pack fragilearticles for storage or transportation and the like, such articles ashottles, radio tubes, incandescent light bulbs, eggs,

and other articles of a fragile nature; and the invention is concernedmore particularly with the type of packing unit known in the trade as aflat, comprising a tray like body containing a number of cells of thegeneral form of the article to be packed, and which trays are adapted,in filled condition, to be assembled or stacked one upon the other in acarton or box or other container for transportation, storage, etc.

Such flats are now commonly made from 5 paper pulp in perforate formingmolds, and are produced as an integral molded structure or unit with thecells formed therein side by side, which cells follow in form thegeneral contour of the particular article which is to be packed,

g0 and the cells are usually of a depth approximately half or more ofthe diameter of the article, and with the filled trays assembled in thecontainer one upon the other as hereinbefore mentioned, the underside ofone tray will rest upon the articles contained in the tray immediatelybeneath, whereby the individual articles of a tray will be separatedfrom each other by the side walls of the cells of that tray, and thearticles in one tray will be separated from those and hence the breakageof the articles in transportation is wholly avoided or reduced to anegli-' gible minimum.

The present invention has for its chief aimto give strength andstiffness to trays or flats of the type referred to, so as thereby tomake them more eflicient and durable in supporting the articles withoutsagging and consequent injury to the articles or cells; and a furtheraim of the invention is to give the trays such external form. on theirundersides, that, when the filled trays are superposed one upon theother in cartons or carriers, as hereinbefore referred to, each traywill be given effectual support by the articles in the next tray be'eath, and of such character that the trays will prevented from shiftingor displacement relative to each other and independently of thesurrounding walls of the box or container.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved form and construction of the parts which will be fullydescribed in detail in the specification to follow, and the novelfeatures of which will be set forth in the appended claims. a

in the adjacent tray, by the bottoms of the trays,

In the accompanying drawings the invention .has been illustrated, by wayof example, in connection with a tray or flat having cells of a form toreceive bottles, but it will be manifest from the specification tofollow, that the invention is not limited to a tray containingv cells ofthis particular form, but is applicableas well to trays equipped withcells of other forms for packing other articles of a fragile nature.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of a tray or flat" constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the-same;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; v t Fig. 5is a perspective view of the improved ray;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a number of filled 75 trays assembled oneupon the other, and showing how the tray above is supported by thearticles in the next tray beneath;

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation on the line 7--7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a cross section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation of a shipping package embodying acontainer with the filled trays placed one over the other therein inaccordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 5, the improved tray or flatcomprises a flat body portion 1 containing a number of cells 2 arrangedside by side, and constituted by concavities in one side of the body andcorresponding projections on the other side. In the present instance,these cells are of a form to hold bottles, and therefore each cell isformed with a wide portion 2 at one end, to receive the body portion ofthe bottle, and a narrow portion 2 at the other end to receive the neckof the bottle; and for the purpose to be presently described, thesecells are disposed in alternately reversed positions, with the wide endof one cell lying next the narrow end of the adjacent cell, as clearlyshown in Figs. 1 and 5.

This tray or flat is preferably molded in a perforate mold from paperpulp, so asto produce an integral structure with the cells incorporatedother materials, provided that a structure will no the bottles seated inthe cells will project some distance above the upper edges of the ribsor partitions, as best shown in Fig. 6. These dividing partitionsconverge towards each other from the wide ends of the cells to theirnarrow ends, and

they are curved slightly longitudinally, so as to follow thelongitudinal curvature of the bottle where the body portion joins theneck portion, whereby the bottles are given support from the cellssubstantially throughout their extent.

I prefer to give the side walls of the individual cells a. flat form, asshown at 3 at the right in Fig. 8, and these walls are so spaced fromeach other that it will require some force to seat the article in thecell, the joining of the upper edges of the walls of the adjacent cellsas just referred to, giving the dividing partitions formed by thesewalls, a resilient bellows-like character. As a result of this form andconstruction of the parts when a bottle for instance, is inserted in acell and pressed down to its seat therein, the fiat side walls will, dueto their resiliency, yield and fit around and follow the contour of thebottle, and will embrace the sides of the same at points some distanceabove the horizontal diameter of the bottle, as shown at the left inFig. 8, and the bottles will be thus held veryufirmly and securely inthe cells.

In accordance with the main feature of the invention, two strengtheningand stiffening grooves 4, 4, constituting a stiffening formation, areformed in the trays, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 5. These groovesextend transversely across the trays near their front and rear edgesrespectively, and they intersect the cells therein, and present on theopposite side of the tray, corre sponding projecting ribs 5, 5, andserve to give the tray great strength and stiffness, and enable the trayto support alone, the considerable weight of the filled bottlescontained in the cells. As a matter of fact the strength and stiffnessimparted by this stiffening formation is such that, a filled traycontaining, as in'the example shown six filled bottles, can, in thelifting and handling of the same in moving it from place to place, andin assembling it in the containers, be supported at its opposite endswithout the same sagging or collapsing.

The two ribs, at points where the grooves intersect the narrow parts ofthe several cells, are formed with upwardly extending cavities 6, 6,which are curved to correspond to the curvature of the bodies of thebottles, and the cavities in one rib are staggered relative to those inthe other rib, so that with the filled trays superposed one upon theother in a container, as shown in Fig. 6, the cavities in the ribs willfit around the upper sides of the bodies of the bottles in the next traybeneath, and in this way the trays will be prevented from shiftingtransversely relatively to each other.

Between the cavities 6, 6, the ribs 5 present on the underside of thetray, plain fiat surfaces '7, 7 etc., which are staggered relatively onthe two ribs, similar to the staggered relation of the cavities 6, andthese flat surfaces rest upon the neck portions of the bottles in thenext tray beneath, as clearly shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The trays aregiven further support from the articles in the tray beneath, when thefilled trays are superposed in a container, by a projection 8 ex tendingdownwardly from the underside of each cell at its wide end, and aprojection 9 extending downwardly from each cell at its narrow end,which projections 8 and 9 are adapted to bear upon the necks and bodyportions respectively of the bottles in the next tray beneath, as shownin Fig. 6.

Further support is afforded a tray by the bottles in the next traybeneath, by the formation of the undersides of the central or mainportions 10 of the cells, which, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 8, areprovided each with a longitudinally extending downwardly projectingprotuberant hollow rib 10, the underside of which is curved upwardlyslightly longitudinally, so as to follow the curvature of the bottlewhere the neck portion joins the body portion, as shown in Fig. 7. Thishollow rib, by projecting below the underside of the cell and seating onthe upper side of the bottle in the cell in the tray beneath, affords aresilient cushion between the two bottles, and effectually preventsbreakage of the bottles from the sudden jolts and jars received intransportation.

A molded or formed tray or fiat" of the structural form described will,due to the stiffening formation, constituted specifically by transversegrooves (and corresponding ribs) intersecting the cells, in accordancewith the invention, possess great strength and unusual stiffness,without detracting from the lightness of the structure and thecomparatively small expense of its production. And due to the presenceof the cavities in the transverse ribs on the underside of the tray, theintermediate flat surfaces of said ribs, the hollow longitudinal ribs onthe undersides of the cells, and the depending projections 8 and 9 atthe ends of the individual cells, the trays with their cells filled maybe assembled one upon the other in a container or box, and when soassembled, each tray will be supported by the articles in the next traybeneath, in such manner that the trays will be prevented from shifting,and the articles will be held in their cells, and will be separated fromeach other individually; and those in one tray will be separated fromthose in another tray. Contact between the articles being thuseffectually prevented, breakage in transportation or storage will be. ifnot entirely eliminated, reduced to a negligible minimum.

The stiffening of the tray by the provision of the' transverselyextending stiffening formation as described, is of peculiar value inconnection with trays molded from paper pulp and having elongated cellsarranged side by side, since the effect of the stiffening formation isto prevent the tray from bending under the weight of its contents, alongthe longitudinal lines of the cells, as it would do, if no means wereprovided to prevent it. The stiffening grooves and ribs as hereinbeforedescribed, effectually resist such tendency to bend or sag, and act togive to the tray a stiff and strong reinforced condition, which greatlyaids in the handling of the tray with the cells filled, and in movingthe trays from place to place, and in assembling them in the container.

It will be understood that in superposing the filled trays one upon theother, the convexity of the underside of one tray will be placed overthe concavity of the upper side of the next tray beneath, in order thatthe severalformations on the undersides of the trays will function ashereinbefore described in receiving support from the articles in thetrays beneath.

While in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings theinvention has been set forth in the particular detailed form which inpractice has been found to answer to a satisfactory degree the ends tobe attained, it will be understood that these details may be variouslychanged within the skill of the mechanic, without departing from thelimits of the invention; and further, it will be understood that theinvention is not limited to any particular form or construction of theparts, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:-

1. A packing tray for fragile articles comprising a fiat body having acell therein to receive the articles and formed in one side with atransverse strengthening groove intersecting said cell, and presentingon the other side a rib, the said rib being formed with a cavity to fitaround the upper side of thearticle in a similar tray beneath.

2. A packing tray for fragile articles comprising a flat body having aseries of cells therein arrange side by side to receive the articles,and provided with a stiffening formation presenting a transverse groovein one side of the body intersecting said cells, and a corresponding ribon the other side of the body, said rib being formed at intervals withcavities to fit around the upper sides of the articles in a similar traybeneath.

3. A packing tray for fragile articles comprising a fiat body having aseries of cells therein arranged side by side to receive the articles,and provided with a stiffening formation presenting transverse groovesin one side of the body intersecting the cells, and corresponding ribson the opposite side of the body, said ribs being formed at intervalswith cavities to fit around the upper sides of the articles in a similartray beneath, and

the cavities in one rib being staggered relative to the cavities in theother rib.

4. A packing tray for fragile articles, comprising a flat body having aseries of cells therein arranged side by side to receive the articles,and provided with a stiffening formation presenting a transverse groovein the inner side of said body intersecting said cells and acorresponding rib on the outer side of the body, said rib being formedat intervals with cavities to fit around the upper sides of thealternate articles in a similar tray beneath, and said rib presentingbetween the cavities, fiat surfaces adapted to bear on the upper sidesof the other articles in said tray beneath.

5. A packing tray for fragile articles, comprising a fiat body having aseries of cells therein arranged side by side to receive the articles,and provided with a stiffening formation presenting transverse groovesin one side of the body intersecting the cells and corresponding ribs onthe opposite side of the body formed at intervals with cavities to fitaround the upper sides of the alternate articles disposed in reversedrelations in a similar tray beneath, said cavities in one rib beingstaggered relative to the cavities in the other rib, and said ribs beingprovided between the cavities with fiat surfaces in staggered relationson the two ribs and adapted to bear on the upper sides of said articlesin the tray beneath.

6. In a packing tray for fragile articles comprising a flat body havingin one side a series of cells wider at one end than at the other end,and disposed side by side in alternately reversed positions, said traybeing provided in its other side with two series of cavities, one seriesadapted to fit around the upper sides of the larger portions ofalternate articles in a similar tray beneath, and the other seriesadapted to fit around the upper sides of the larger portions of theother articles in said tray beneath.

"l. A packing tray for fragile articles comprising a. flat body havingin one side a cell wider at one end than at the other end to receive asimilarly shaped article, and havingin its other side a cavity tosurround the upper side of the larger end of a similar article in asimilar tray. beneath, said tray having also a depending projection tobear upon the smaller, end of said article in the tray beneath.

8. A packing tray for fragile articles comprising a fiat body having inone side a series of cells wider at one end than at the other end, anddisposed in alternately reversed positions to receive articles ofsimilar shape, said tray having in its other side cavities to surroundthe upper sides of the larger ends of similar articles in a similar traybeneath, and having also depending projections to bear upon the uppersides of the smaller ends of said articles.

9. A packing tray for fragile articles comprising a flat body having acell therein wider at one end than at the other end to receive asimilarly shaped article, and having in its other side, near one end, acavity to surround the upper side of the larger end of a similarreversely disposed article in a similar tray beneath, and having near,its other end a fiat surface to bear on the smaller end of said articlein the tray beneath. 1

10. A packing tray for fragile articles, compris ing a body having acell therein wider at one end than at the other end to receive asimilarly shaped 11 article, and having in its other side near one end acavity to surround the upper side of the larger end of a similarreversely disposed article in a similar tray beneath, and havingadjacent said cavity a depending projection to bear on said end of thearticle, and said tray having near its other end a fiat surface to bearon the smaller end of said article beneath, and having adjacent saidfiat surface, a depending projection to bear on the said smaller end ofsaid article.

11. A packing tray for fragile articles comprising a fiat body having inits inner side a series of cells wider at one end than at the other end,and disposed side by side in relatively reversed positions to receivearticles of similar shape, and having transverse grooves in its innerside intersecting the cells along lines adjacent their opposite endsrespectively, and presenting corresponding ribs on the outer side of thetray, said ribs being provided at intervals with cavities andintervening fiat portions, to engage the opposite ends respectively ofsimilar articles in a similar tray beneath, and said tray being alsoprovided beyond said ribs with depending projections to bear on saidarticles beneath.

12.'A packing tray for articles, comprising a fiat body having a celltherein to receive the article, the bottom of said cell being formedwith a longitudinally extending hollow protuberant rib extendingdownwardly therefrom to seat upon an article in a similar tray beneath,and the underside of said rib being curved longitudinally to follow thecurvature of the article beneath.

13. A packing tray for fragile articles comprisother side of the body,said rib being formed at intervals with cavities to fit around the uppersides of the articles in a tray beneath;

15. A packing tray comprising a body of flbrous material having at leasttwo article receiving cells arranged side by side, each cell comprisinga mid-section curved in the direction of its shorter diameter, and twoend sections curved to complement the curvature of said mid-section, butbeing spaced therefrom, said mid-section being provided with astrengthening rib extending parallel to the side walls thereof, andstiffening means connecting said ends and mid-section.

- ROBERT E. READ.

